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What happens when a player wants to try to chop
off the head of the monster? How about when he wants to try to stake
the vampire in the heart like Buffy the Vampire Slayer while engaged
in combat? How about a player that wants to scar his opponent in
the face for effect? Well here is a simple method to use that can
allow these "called shots". We had a system for 2E and
now its comverted to 3E.

Called Shots

When a player, or monster, wants to make a called shot he should
state it before the combat begins. The player states which of his
attacks will be used for the called shots. The DM then determines
the difficulty of the attack and applies a penalty to the attack
roll.

Easy: -2, examples are hitting an opponent's shield, tearing
a shirt with a "Zorro" mark, hitting an arm or leg for
no special effect.

Moderate: -4, spit in the face, hitting the leg for reduced
movement, breaking a potion on their belt.

Difficult: -8, hitting a hand making it useless, knocking
off a helmet, slashing off armor straps, kick in the groin.

Rediculous: -12, decapitation, put out an eye, stake through
the heart, using your sword as a tongue depressor.

The attacker must then roll a successful critical
hit to have the called strike go through. He would forfeit his 2x,
3x, 4x damage for the special effect, but if the effect is to decapitate
then it would be better than the multiple damage dice. DMs should
use these rules with caution. Be sure to give the appropriate penalty
for the called shot. Remeber they must first roll the threat range
and then hit the opponent. Penalties apply to both rolls.